Tony Mokbel loses bid to quash drug conviction

Mokbel was convicted for being the mastermind behind a large-scale drug ring.

ABC TV

Convicted drug boss Tony Mokbel has lost a bid to quash his conviction for being the mastermind behind a large-scale drug ring.

He was not in court today to hear that his latest bid to avoid punishment had failed.

Mokbel's lawyers argued his conviction for trafficking more than 45 kilograms of ecstasy and $4 million worth of speed should be quashed, despite his guilty pleas, by the Victorian Court of Appeal.

He also made a bid for a permanent stay on any retrial and sought to have his 22-year minimum sentence reduced if unsuccessful in his first appeal.

Last year Mokbel pleaded guilty to being the mastermind behind a large-scale drug syndicate between 2005 and 2007.

He was sentenced to 30 years in jail and was ordered to serve a non-parole period of 22 years.

In seeking leave to appeal against his conviction, his lawyers argued there was an abuse of process over his extradition from Greece following his arrest in Athens in 2007.

They argued there was a miscarriage of justice before he agreed to a plea deal and admitted to three charges.

Mokbel's lawyer argued the Australian Government ignored its obligations under international law and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights in returning him to Australia.

Mokbel had applied to the European court to avoid extradition and refused leave to appeal.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the argument ruling there was no legal impediment to Mokbel's extradition.

Mokbel appealed to reduce his sentence on the grounds that sentencing judge Justice Simon Whelan did not consider the sentencing range agreed to by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in return for a plea of guilty.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and did not agree that the 30-year sentence with a non-parole period of 22 years was manifestly excessive.

"Mr Mokbel's position as the head of trafficking enterprises of this scale put his culpability at the highest level," the three appeal judges said.

"The sentences imposed had to be seen to reflect the community's abhorrence of trafficking in drugs and the court's denunciation of a person who, for reasons of sheer greed, was prepared - repeatedly and determinedly - to inflict untold harm on the community."

A previous attempt to stay proceedings on the basis his extradition was illegal also failed, as did an attempt to reverse his guilty plea.

At the time he was sentenced, Mokbel was already serving a 12-year sentence for importing cocaine, imposed on him after he fled Australia while on bail.